Moving Veritas to the City

The Veritas leadership is looking into the possibility of moving our once a month Alternative Worship gathering to the city of Lancaster. For a long time we sensed that our vision, style of worship, and ethos were more in-line with a city/small city like Lancaster. We feel that Lancaster is a better place for Veritas because we are seeking to connect with a younger, more artistic type people that aren't down the street from Hempfield COB in the 400,000 dollar houses.
So with that being said..we went looking for a place to hold our worship gathering. We found a 3rd floor space above the Prince Street Cafe that was available. Well it turns out that it might not be available on Sunday nights due to a group that was possibly going to move to Sunday AM leaving Sunday night open. So now we have 3-4 options. The first being that the other group moves times and then there is no problem. (the best option). The second being move worship to another day (Saturday being the other option). The third being to stay on Sunday and find another place to rent. The fourth and definitely the last option (in our opinion) is to keep worship at Hempfield COB.

So please be in prayer for us as we look into these issues...and if you have any ideas for us (space to rent, prayer, etc..) please let us know.

The Simple Way

Earlier today I learned that the fire in Philadelphia that I had heard about the other night was in the Kensington area of the city..right where The Simple Way community is. Now our community (Veritas) has been touched by the Simple Way community. Several college students from Veritas went down to the Simple Way back in December to their open house and one returned for a school of conversion (that he blogged about back in May). The Fire has impacted the Simple Way, burning some of their buildings and 2 of their community (Shane Claiborne, and another) lost everything. Here is the report from their website (www.thesimpleway.org)

This morning (June 20), a 7-alarm fire consumed an abandoned warehouse in our Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia. The Simple Way Community Center at 3200 Potter Street was destroyed as well as at least eight of our neighbors’ homes. Over 100 people were evacuated from their homes, and 400 families are currently without power. Despite this tragedy, we are incredibly thankful to share that all of our community members and every one of our neighbors is safely out of harm’s way.
This fire will forever change the fabric of our community. Eight families are currently homeless, and in many cases have lost their vehicles as well as their homes. One of our neighbors, the Mahaias Family, lost their three cars as well as the equipment one family member uses for her massage therapy business. Teenager Brian Mahaias is devastated not because he has lost his belongings, but because he fears that this fire will force him to move away from this neighborhood that is his family as well as his home.
The Simple Way has lost a community center that was home to our Yes! And… afterschool program, community arts center, and Cottage Printworks t-shirt micro-business as well as to two of our community members. Community members Shane Claiborne and Jesce Walz have lost all of their belongings, Yes!And…’s after school studio and library were ruined, and community member Justin Donner’s Cottage Printworks equipment and t-shirts were destroyed.
We are thankful that we are able to help each other during this time of need, and we will continue to keep your informed about today’s events.

Please pray for those effected by this tragedy (it seems like no one was hurt or killed so that is good news). Also if you feel like donating money see their website for how to do that. I am thinking that Veritas should support the Simple Way monetarily as their community and Shane's book "The Irrestible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical" have made a profound impact on several of us within our community. Those involved in Veritas what do you think?

England Trip-Worship Reflections

So I am finally getting around to sharing a little bit about the many different worship gatherings that we were a part of in jolly olde England. I figured out that we were at 9 total worship gatherings in our 13 days. The last Sunday the 20th we went to 4 gatherings. As I reflect back on the many expressions of worship, there were definitely ones that stood out and ones that didn't so much (at least for me). I don't want to be critical of any worship gatherings but I definitely felt a connection with some of the churches and a disconnect with others. I want to focus on the few that I really connected with.

The first Saturday when we got there we got to go to Grace (http://www.freshworship.org/). I had been looking forward to this gathering since before knowing about our study and trip. Jonny Baker, Jenny Baker (Jonny's wife) and Steve Collins were some of the leaders that we met and spent time with. They did a thing called Communion by Numbers and I have to say it was a great experience (at least for me). It allowed us to connect with others and have an intergal part in the gathering and not just sit passively by and watch the worship happen. We helped create the worship experience. Sometime in the future I plan to work on something very similiar for our Veritas Worship gathering.

The last worship gathering we were a part of was Headspace at Church.co.uk and theologically I resonated strongly with where they are. The night was a little different as they were focused on the Micah Challenge and wasn't as "alternative" as they normally are. The Micah Challenge is based on the text that says "Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly before our God." They spent alot of time talking about global issues like AIDS, world hunger, poverty, and other social justice issues. So as an Anabaptist I truly resonated about being Christ's hands and feet in the world. What was great was that it wasn't divored from the need to base everything that we do (justice, etc..) in having a relationship with Christ. It was very evident that everything flowed from a personal encounter and journey with Christ.

Some other random thoughts:
Holy Trinity Brompton- I resonated with the Ancient/Future look of the gathering. Modern worship with Ancient backdrop (stained glass, mosaic, etc..)
Search- Varied approach to the fruits of the Spirit. Each person took a fruit of the spirit and expounded upon it using games, interactive elements, stories and narrative and not just a talking head approach. It was a very flat leadership structure. (something that we are seeking to be at Veritas)

That would be about it....
Would love to talk with anyone about more of my experience if interested.

Get Closer!!

For 2 years Wednesday nights would be my photography night. Starting at 6:50pm I would sit in the lab and listen to lectures on mechanics of photography and alchemy of of the Darkroom. We would discuss lighting, composition and the merits of different lenses for our favorite subjects. Tonight was a special day for the photo - 1 students. Last week at the end of class we handed in our first project. Tonight we would have the projects returned and we would put them on the walls of our Gallery. We would then critique each others work. At the end of the critique we would get our grade.

Our instructor walked in and went right to the board. Normally when she came in she would take a few minutes to chew the fat before our 4 hour class began so the was a little unusual. She wrote 3 words on the board GET CLOSER D***IT!. "The biggest difference between an ok shot and a great shot is composition and the greatest weakness in your compositions is that your not getting close enough to the subject." She went on to say that she told this to all of her photo - 1 classes. People she said have a fear of getting close enough to subject to really make an impact with their images. She was right. For the next 4 semesters I got closer. The images I love from that period are the ones when I got closer than I thought I should have.

Do we have the same fear of closeness in our relationships? Do we need to have some one tell us to get closer? For many of us the answer is yes. I know most of my neighbors by name and we chat when we are outside but, do I know them? No. They are acquaintances not friends. I don't know their dreams or hopes or fears. They don't know mine. I'm not suggesting you knock on your neighbors door and bare your soul, I am suggesting that you make an effort to get closer than you think you should. It's when were uncomfortable that we grow.

England Trip-More Reflections

This is my take on cathedrals.

I was so looking forward to going to England and seeing some amazing cathedrals. Church Buildings that have been around for hundreds or thousands of years. In the last week or so I have seen a few churches in the area proudly saying they are celebrating their 175 year or some other number. And for us that seems a long time but for England that is pretty short. So there I am standing in front of Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's, Westminister Cathedral, and other amazing church buildings and my conflicted nature comes out.

Let me explain.... I am overwhelmed with the beauty and the transcendence in the cathedrals (especially gothic structures with flying buttresses). I feel a sense of connection with God. I see God reflected in the building, the art work (especially stained glass and the rose windows), and the space. But at the same time my heart breaks knowing that most of these buildings were built on the back of the poor and oppressed. That to create this amazing structure (the two pictures above are Westminster Abbey) many poor were taxed heavily and that God's desire for mercy, justice, and taking care of the poor and oppressed were overlooked so that the "elite" could have a place of worship.

I have lots of more reflections that I could share.... please feel free to ask, e-mail or talk with me and I can share them with you. I will share a little next week about some of the worship gatherings that I visited while in England.

Ryan

England

It took a week and a half to totally catch up from being away for 2 weeks in England. But I am finally getting around to sharing on this blog a little bit about my trip to England.

I was going to England with 5 other Pastors in the COB (our denomination) through a grant from the Lilly Foundation. We are a part of a study called Sustaining Pastoral Excellence and we are studying disciple-forming communities in postmodern culture.

As I reflect back on my time in England I am struck by two opposite responses. When I was visiting with a leader, or a part of a worship gathering (some of them not all) I was struck by the life and vibrance of the faith community (especially Grace, Jonny Baker, Steve Collins, Dave Steell, Church.co.uk, and Headspace). I was also struck with the deadness of alot of Anglican churches. Visited Westminster Abbey and St. Pauls...beautiful buildings as tourist places but can't say they are full on Sundays as places of worship. As an Anabaptist I was also struck by the connection of the church and state. Alot of statues in the Abbey were directed at war heroes from the British Navy, etc.. Also the queen is the head of the church.

One amazing thing that I saw in the Anglican church was the openness to what is called Fresh Expressions (if we were Anglican Veritas would be consider a Fresh Expression). The Bishops are looking for new ways of doing and being church together in the world. I guess when you are dying and are desparate you will work through the pain of change. I just hope the US Church doesn't have to get that bad to look at working together at developing churches and ministries that seek to share the good news to people, taking seriously the shift from modernity to postmodernity and from Christendom to Post-Christendom.

Here is 2 pictures of me standing between the Tate Modern Art Gallery and St. Paul's Cathedral. It's like being caught between two worlds.

I'll write more about some of the worship experiences that I visited in another post later this week.